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D77H-TCI Pelican
The D77H-TCI Pelican is a newer model of the venerable D77-TC Pelican , recently introduced into service within the UNSC Marine Corps and Navy in late 2552 and early 2553 (the Halo 3 era). It differs from the D77-TC in many respects, but is also improved in several ways. It still operates as a flexible dropship/gunship VTOL. Background The D77H-TCI is a fleet wide upgrade to the UNSC's squadrons of Pelican Drop ships, incorporating many differences from its older counterparts. First seen deployed in November, 2552 Halo: Ghosts of OnyxMissing Person Poster, the newer model assisted in the recovery effort to rescue Spartan-117 from the jungle region in KenyaSierra 117 (Level), and evacuated wounded Marines from Crows Nest base as it suffered Covenant assaultCrow's Nest (Level). Others would airlift Marines and equipment to reinforce the UNSC's attempts to retake Voi, coordinating with Hornet air forces.The Storm (Level) Later, D77H-TCI Pelicans would take part in the joint Elite-Human assault on the Covenant at Installation 00, inserting Spartan-117 and a team of ODST's to secure a landing zone for the and pick them up again as they discovered the location of the Prophet of Truth and his forcesThe Ark (Level). A joint force of Pelicans and Elite Phantoms would deliver Spartan-117, the Arbiter and Sergeant Major A. J. Johnson to deactivate three shield generators protecting the Prophet's location, with several being taken down by Type-52 Anti Aircraft Artillery Wraiths and by Banshees, fighting their way to allow the Arbiter and Spartan-117 to assault the third generator. A D77H-TCI was used by Commander Miranda Keyes failed attempt to rescue Sergeant Johnson from Truth and his Brute forces, and was used by the Sergeant to escape from a Flood assault.The Covenant (Level) A D77H-TCI Pelican was crashed on High Charity, which in turn crashed onto Installation 00. It was used by Spartan-117 and the Arbiter to rescue the UNSC AI Cortana, and then flew to Installation 04 (II)'s Control Room.Cortana (Level). Pelicans have saved the lives of many marines and Spartans due to their flexibility and offensive capabilities. Payload Capacity Though an upgrade, the D77H-TCI variant of the Pelican carries the same number of passengers as its predecessor. However, its troop-bay is more flexible, able to carry up to two Mongoose's internally, in addition to its passengers. The D77H-TCI Pelican's cockpit also differs from its predecessor, using a tandem seating rather than a side-by-side configuration used by the D77-TC. It is presumed that the pilot furthest toward the front operates the craft's flight systems, with the co-pilot seated behind him operating the other systems. A small holo-tank has been installed also, allowing an artificial intelligence to project its holographic form to the craft's pilots.Halo 3 Its tail mounted magnetic clamps are capable of carrying a M12 Warthog LRV, M12G1 Warthog LAAG or M831 TT Warthog, an M808B Scorpion MBT, or four Type C Resupply Capsules rather than six Type B Resupply Capsules, to to the battlefield, able to detach its payload without landing. It is unknown if a variant exists with the D77-TC Pelican's troop-bay drop-pod. Armament The D77H-TCI Pelican lacks the nose-mounted chaingun of its predecessor, though it is able to mount an AIE-486H Heavy Machine Gun in its troop-bay compartment for supporting ground teams and covering the ingress/egress of its passengers, an improvement from the previous M247 GPMG. Its wings can carry a missile-pod for engaging air or ground hostile units, which has proven effective against enemy Phantom Dropships and Covenant infantry, able to fire more missiles and faster than the older ANVIL-II ASM Pods. The D77H-TCI can also be equipped with a much larger cannon, mounted at the ventral-fore of the dropshipHigh Ground (Level) computers. other than this, the D77H-TCI carries relatively few weapons. Propulsion The main engines are mounted in pairs in four nacelles, one on each wing and two at the rear. The nacelles can articulate independently, thus altering (ie, Vectoring) the direction of thrust and improving the D77H-TCI Pelican's low altitude maneuverability. Six ventral thrusters, two on each wing nacelle and one on each aft nacelle, allow the drop ship to land and take off vertically. These engines are capable of both space and atmospheric operation. the fuel taken by the Pelican is a fissile material to power its thermonuclear engines. The D77H-TCI Pelican is too small to have a slipspace matrix mounted inside. The wings mounted on a Pelican seem extremely small, too small to support the weight of drop ship and payload alone. It is speculated that it incorporates at least some Lifting Body principles, its own hull providing most of the lift necessary. Identified Pelicans *Echo 51 *Kilo 23 *Victor 398 *Oscar 5 *Oscar 6 *Oscar 8 *Oscar 9 Images Image:K30 1.jpg|A Pelican, moments before exploding after it is hit by plasma. Image:D77H-TCI Pelican Gunship.jpg|D77H-TCI Pelican Gun ship Image:Pelican.png|Inside the cockpit of a Pelican. Image:D77H-TCI Pelican Dropship.jpg|A pelican flying over the Portal Image:Chief, Johnson, and ODST Pilot in Pelican.jpg|A D77H-TCI performing an orbital insertion into Installation 00. Note the AI pedestal to the right of the pilot. Image:Landfall Pelicans.jpg|D77H-TCI Pelicans under construction. Image:Pelican bay.jpg|The rear seats of a D77H-TCI Pelican. Image:Phantom Pelicans.jpg|Five Pelicans followed by two Separatist Phantoms. Image:1577752381 aff896d854 b.jpg|Pelican with the Shadow of Intent over it Image:1577752639 ea9a91297f b.jpg|A Pelican being piloted by the Chief Image:1577761657 83b07e6c29 b.jpg|Kilo 23 approaching to Crow's Nest Image:1578645048 c67a9b7a49 b.jpg|Pelican crash-landing on the new Installation 04 Trivia * The D77H-TCI Pelican can be seen being assembled autonomously by Misriah Armories in the Halo: Arms Race short film. *Some pelicans you can see the pilot and co-pilot through the glass, others you cannot. The ones you can't see pilots in are pelicans that do not have cockpit designs, this is confirmed by theater mode, where you can go in the back of a pelican with the camera go against the left part of the wall going to the cockpit room and seeing the interior of the cockpit. *There are some instances were you can use the turret in the back if it has one. (NO YOU CANT) *The Pelicans take off and flight resembles that of a modern day Harrier, using rotating jets to take off, land, and sustained flight. See Also *D77-TC Pelican *Albatross Dropship *Phantom Dropship *Spirit Dropship Sources Category:UNSC Vehicles